A-Z of Characters
by isaacswolfsbane
Summary: An A-Z of characters from the Wizarding World for Bex's A-Z Competition. T - Theodore Nott. E - Ernie Macmillan.
1. Astoria Greengrass

**AN: **This is the start of my A-Z collection of characters for Bex's competition. For now there'll only be one character for each letter, but when it's been judged and everything I'll probably add more characters in :)

Hopefully these will all be okay, a lot of the characters I haven't written before so I'm not sure how in character they'll be but I'll try.

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**Astoria Greengrass**

Astoria sighed, she didn't particularly enjoy going out with a large group of girls. She'd much rather have gone out with the guys tonight, but it was her sister's hen party so there was no way to get out of being here. What made it worse was that Pansy, the maid of honour, had decided to take the muggle tradition of going 'clubbing'. Apparently when muggles get married they go out to crowded places, get really drunk and dance until early in the morning. Astoria didn't like the sound of it; she'd much prefer to be sat in a pub with Theo, Blaise, Draco, Greg and the rest of the boys.

Hearing the fireplace in the other room, she got up to see who'd arrived. Everyone had arranged to meet at the Greengrass Manor prior to going out since Pansy had decided against telling them where they would be going.

"Astoria, well don't you just look beautiful!" she heard Pansy say to her as she entered the room, "Now where's your sister? I've got a few things to give her before we go out."

"She's in her room getting dressed," Astoria told the other witch lazily before grabbing a book off the nearest shelf and settling down in the couch in front of the fire while she waited for the rest of the girls.

One by one the girls all appeared; somehow all of them managing to come through just as she was at an interesting part of her book. Millicent arrived first, followed by Tracey, and then her friend Viola. The only person missing was Megan, but that wasn't unusual – she was almost always late. About five minutes later Megan came through the fireplace, looking a little frazzled and apologising for being late. Astoria laughed this off and the girls made their way through to the Drawing Room where she promptly called their house elf, Minty, to get them some drinks and let Pansy and Daphne know everyone was there.

As they sat and waited for the bride and maid of honour, they reminisced about their days at school. Astoria more pleased than most to be out of there. Her last two years at Hogwarts after the war had been horrendous. Being a Slytherin she didn't go a single day in her sixth year without being hexed by someone in the corridors. By her seventh year the hexes had calmed down, but the whole house was still shunned and she couldn't go anywhere without someone saying something derogatory to her.

The worst thing for Astoria, though, was that even before war and especially after she didn't think like most of the Slytherins had. Sure she had been brought up to hate muggles, muggleborns and 'blood traitors', but that didn't mean she necessarily agreed with the rest of her family. The way Astoria saw it, as long as you were able to cast good magic then you should be allowed to attend Hogwarts and have a place in the Wizarding World.

Shaking herself out of her thoughts, Astoria realised that the conversation had shifted from Hogwarts to the upcoming wedding and everyone's relationships. This was a conversation that Astoria could join in with. With a smirk on her face, Astoria slipped the engagement ring she'd hidden in her pocket onto her finger. Just a week ago Draco had proposed to her, the only people that knew were Pansy, Daphne, Theo and Blaise. She hated to take away from her sister's night, but Astoria decided that sharing the news would make everyone more excited and in a better mood for tonight. Well, talking about it would certainly put her in a better mood and quite frankly that was all that mattered to Astoria.

Just then she heard Viola ask how she and Draco were doing, so Astoria just pulled her left hand out of her pocket with a smirk on her face. Everyone looked at her blankly before Tracey noticed the engagement ring and everyone started squealing. It wasn't long before she was hit with a barrage of questions.

"When did that happen?"

"Draco proposed?"

"What happened? Tell me everything!"

"Did he take you out?"

"Was it romantic?"

"What did he say?"

"Did he get down on one knee?"

"Where were you?"

"Was. It. Romantic?"

"Why aren't you telling us?"

Astoria laughed, "Girls, girls. I'd tell you everything if you let me get a word in!"

"Sorry!" they all chorused before sitting quietly.

She smiled, it was nice having all this attention on her – especially since everyone's attention had been on Daphne and Theo's wedding for so long.

"Yes, it was romantic!" she told them, hearing some giggles and relieved sighs as she did, "it was last week. Draco came and met me after work; he had a present for me which turned out to be a beautiful dress. He told me to go and put it on and then apparated us to this remote location, I'm still not sure where it was – he won't tell me. We had to walk up this country lane for about five minutes which was beautiful, the trees were covered in lights and it created a beautiful image. After walking up we arrived at this beautiful and very exclusive Italian restaurant. We had a beautiful meal and afterwards there was a fireworks display out the back for everyone in the restaurant to watch, there was only about 5 couples including us in there. I stood watching the fireworks and when they'd finished I turned around and there he was, down on one knee with the most beautiful engagement ring I've ever see. It was perfect!"

As she told the girls all about how Draco had proposed to her, she couldn't help but imagine what her hen party would be like. She certainly wouldn't be doing this 'clubbing' thing, she still wasn't sure what it entailed other than dressing like muggles, but maybe a girl's night out where she could catch up with old friends would be nice.

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**Words: **1,002.

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**This is for:**

_**This Means War Competition;**_

_Round One - Girls Night Out._

**_A-Z Competition;_**

_Characters - A._

**_If You Dare Challenge;_**

_339 - Marriage._

**_Open Category Competition 2;_**

_Trio Era._


	2. Blaise Zabini

**Blaise Zabini**

Blaise stood tall and proud as he waited for his name to be called. He was the last student to be sorted, but that didn't phase him in the slightest. Growing up, he was friends with Draco and Theo, and since they had both been sorted into Slytherin, that was where he was going to end up as well. His mother wasn't as bothered about his house as his friends' parents were, but he highly doubted that she'd be pleased if he was sorted into Gryffindor. He shuddered as he thought about it. Even if he didn't have the connections to Slytherin that the others did, his own mother being a Ravenclaw, the thought of being in Gryffindor made him feel sick, especially since _Harry Potter_ was in his year and had been sorted into the house.

"Zabini, Blaise."

Blaise had already started his walk to the stool at the front of the room before Professor McGonagall called his name out. As he walked, he tried to show off the confidence, almost arrogance, that he was desperately losing, despite being so confident only a moment before. _No matter how prepared you think are, some things always make you nervous. _His mother's words echoed in his head as he sat down. She had been talking about using the Floo Network the first time he had used it on his own. Blaise chuckled to himself as he remembered trying to Floo to Theo's house and ending up coming out of his neighbour's fireplace.

The jovial thoughts soon stopped when Blaise felt the hat fall into place on top of his head.

"Zabini, eh?" the hat said, almost to itself. Blaise jumped a little when it spoke, but he didn't think it was noticeable.

"Um, yes." Blaise wasn't sure if the hat had really been asking a question or not, but he decided to answer it anyway.

"Nice mind you've got, you'd do well in Ravenclaw, yes you would. You've also got determination and ambition, and you can be quite cunning about it. That's not really a surprise, especially for someone lacking a father figu—"

"What do you mean 'especially for someone lacking a father'?" Blaise was outraged by the hat's comments. It wasn't his fault that none of the men his mother dated stuck around.

"And quick to stand up for your loved one. You could do well in Gryffindor too."

Blaise groaned. Out of all the houses he could be sorted into, Gryffindor was the lowest on his list.

"You're hard-working too, and loyal, perfectly good Hufflepuff traits, although they would probably be better nurtured in another house. You have a nice balance, something of all the houses. It's rare to see in someone so young. I can see you don't want to be in Gryffindor or Hufflepuff. That's not a surprise, you'd be able to challenge yourself much more in Ravenclaw or Slytherin, but where to put you?"

"Can… Can I be with my friends?" Blaise hated how weak he sounded. He had felt the colour draining from his face as the hat had told him that he'd fit in with Gryffindor and Hufflepuff, and he still hadn't shaken himself out of that slump.

"Very well, if you insist. You'll achieve great things in either house, but I guess for you, it will be in SLYTHERIN!"

As with all of the other sortings, the hat roared only the last word, his house, out loud. The Slytherin table erupted into applause, each member looking pleased to have the last student in their house.

Blaise stood up and gave himself a little shake. Nobody was ever going to know he had been considered for Gryffindor. Holding his head high, and radiating enough arrogance to rival Draco, Blaise made his way over to the Slytherin table and sat down, immediately launching into an elaborate tale of how the hat had been torn between Ravenclaw and Slytherin to explain to his friends why his sorting took so long.

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**Word Count: **664.

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**This is for:**

_**Hogwarts Funfair Event – Hedge Maze;**_

_Left – (word) Balance._

_**Hogwarts Funfair Event – Horse Race;**_

_Trio Era._


	3. Charlie Weasley

**AN: **This is my first attempt at writing Charlie, my task was to write about him in his third year at Hogwarts so I decided to write about his first Care of Magical Creatures lesson.

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Charlie was excited. He was more excited that he'd even been in his life. When he received his Hogwarts letter he didn't think his life would get any better, but boy was he wrong. When Charlie received his Hogwarts letter he hadn't been counting on the fact that he'd find his calling in life, and his calling in life started three days into his third year as that was the day he had his first Care of Magical Creatures lesson.

He leaped out of bed, stunning the rest of his dorm mates that were just waking up as he was usually rather sluggish in the mornings, and proceeded to dance around the dorm room as he get ready for the day.

"Alright, mate?" Alastair Bluewater asked as he noticed Charlie's strange behaviour.

"Never better!" He practically sang as he danced out of the door on his way to breakfast.

As he skipped through the common room and through the corridors he received several strange looks, none stranger than the look Bill sent his way. In all of the thirteen years Charlie had been alive Bill had never seen him this lively in the morning, and Charlie knowing this just sent a grin his way as he passed further confusing his brother.

He was still grinning as he sat down to breakfast and tucked into a rather large helping of bacon and scrambled eggs. As he was finishing his second helping he felt a presence behind him and turned to see the confused face of his best friend Tonks looking down at him.

"Has someone spiked your pumpkin juice?" she asked as she stared at his still smiling face.

"Nope. Sit down, try it!" he told her before turning back to finish his breakfast. Surprisingly she actually did try his pumpkin juice which, as he had told her, had definitely not been spiked.

"Okay then Weasley, what's got into you?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"I mean," she told him, dragging out her words to create more emphasis, "that you are positively glowing and it is barely eight in the morning! Where's the sulky Charlie we've all come to know and love? You have to keep appearances up or people will start to suspect you're not really a thirteen year old boy!" Tonks laughed as she said this, her hair changing from her usual bubblegum pink to a bright turquoise as she did.

"Today is going to be a wonderful day, Dora. It's my first Care of Magical Creatures lesson!" Charlie's sing-song voice was back and that combined with Charlie calling her Dora was enough to make Tonks want to leave.

"Riiiiiight," she said, slowly getting up and edging away from the table, "I'm going to leave you to get that third helping I know you so desperately want and I'll see you in Transfiguration."

* * *

When Charlie arrived in his Care of Magical Creatures lesson he soon realised that he had been wrong about it being a wonderful day. He had been very wrong indeed.

Alistair, who had also taken Care of Magical Creatures, had been walking to the lesson with Charlie and he had been babbling constantly so when Charlie suddenly stopped talking he couldn't help but notice the sudden deterioration of his mood.

"Are you alright, Charlie?" Alistair asked noticing the grim look on Charlie's face.

"I…" he started, stopping in his tracks and refusing to take another step towards where Professor Kettleburn was waiting for the class to reach him, "I don't feel well."

Charlie wasn't lying, he had suddenly started feeling less then okay, but he wasn't ill. Charlie had noticed the creatures in the tank at the side of Professor Kettleburn and all the colour drained from his face.

"You don't look it, mate," Alistair told him, the concern evident in his voice, "do you want to go to the Hospital Wing?"

"No, I… I'll be fine," Charlie told him. He took a deep breath and slowly started inching his way to where the other students had gathered.

"Nice of you to finally join us, Mr Weasley!" Prefessor Kettleburn announced as he joined the back of the group, "Care to share what it as you and Mr Bluewater so eagerly had to discuss before joining us?"

Charlie said nothing, barely listening to the professor as he tried to control his breathing. He only just registered the fact that Alistair had started talking.

"He said he wasn't feeling well. I'm worried, I think I should take him to the Hospital Wing, Professor," Alistair told the professor. However, Professor Kettleburn wasn't interested and instead dismissed Alistair's comment.

"Nonsense, the boy looks just fine! Tell me, Mr Weasley, what is it that has you so quiet? From what I've heard you couldn't wait for my class!" Professor Kettleburn was grinning as he said this, obviously proud that he had a student that would actually pay attention in his lessons.

"Snakes," Charlie muttered.

"Speak up lad, I can't hear you!"

"Snakes," he repeated, "I don't do well with snakes."

"Ridiculous!" Professor Kettleburn announced, "Snakes are darling creatures. Here, come and hold one."

Charlie's face once again lost all colour.

"No, Professor, please..."

The exchange went on for another five minutes until Professor Kettleburn forced Charlie up to the front where the snakes were and he promptly fainted.

* * *

"You should have just come with me before the start of the class, mate," Alastair told Charlie after he had woken up in the Hospital Wing, "I was trying to do you a favour."

"What do you mean?" Charlie asked, confused at his friends words.

"I mean that I knew you were scared of snakes, so I thought I'd get you out of there before something disastrous happened, which it did."

"How… how did you know?" Charlie asked. As far as he knew Charlie had never told any of his friends that he was scared of snakes.

"You talk in your sleep, mate. 'No, Bill, stop it! Get that bloody snake away from me'" Alistair told him, doing a rather poor impression of Charlie's voice.

"I do not sound like that!" Charlie accused him, "And that snake was bloody terrifying, it was huge and had fangs. I woke up with it in my bed the following day. I think that's enough to put anyone off them."

Alistair just laughed which prompted Charlie to throw a pillow at him just as Tonks was walking through the doors.

"Okay, Weasley, spill! Why weren't you in Transfiguration? You're well enough to be throwing pillows at Al here, so you're well enough to be in lesson!"

Charlie proceeded to tell her what had happened, prompting her to laugh until her hair turned blue and tell him that he was "rubbish at keeping up the appearance of a thirteen year old boy" and he "should be ashamed of himself for having such pathetic phobias". This earned a pillow to the face from Charlie and soon the three of them were engaged in a full on pillow fight until Madam Pomfrey told them and kicked Alistair and Tonks out.

Madam Pomfrey told Charlie that she was keeping him in until dinner just to make sure there was nothing seriously wrong with him, and as Charlie lay there he could only hope that his next Care of Magical Creatures lesson would be more successful than this one had.

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**Word Count:** 1,231.

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**AN: **This was written at 1 o'clock in the morning and was rushed so I apologise if it isn't very good or there are any obvious mistakes. If there are mistakes can you please let me know so I can go back and fix them as I haven't had time to proofread it :)

For anyone that's read any of my other stuff and is interested, Connor Bluewater who is one of my Next-Gen characters is the nephew of Alistair. His father is Matthew Bluewater who is three years older than Harry.

**This is for:**

**The Quidditch League Round 5.**

**Chaser 2: **Write about **Charlie Weasley** in his **3****rd**** year.**

**Prompts;**

9\. (dialogue) "I don't do well with snakes"

13\. (word) ridiculous

14\. (word) appearance


	4. Fleur Delacour

**AN: **I understand that Fleur is French and therefore would speak in French, however as I am not fluent in French and I doubt everyone reading this story is I have just decided to write in accented English with the places where she would be speaking French in italics. I'm sorry in advance if this is confusing for readers, but it helped me to write it and get her character as much as I could.

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**Fleur Delacour**

Fleur paced the room she was in. It was a little under two hours until the second round of the Triwizard Tournament was to begin and she had no idea where her sister was. Fleur couldn't remember when the _last_ time she'd seen her sister was; she'd seen her at dinner the previous night but she couldn't recall if she'd seen her since.

"_Gabrielle?"_ Fleur called out to the emptying room the Beauxbatons were using as a Common Room. No one answered her, so she tried again. "_Gabrielle? 'As anyone seen my little sister?"_

She was becoming more frantic now, searching every face that went past to see if it belonged to her sister. It was very unlike Gabrielle to disappear without telling her, and Fleur was certain something had happened. It wasn't until she was making her way down to the Great Lake that she thought to ask a teacher if they'd seen her.

"Professor McGonagall?" Fleur asked as she saw the Deputy Headmistress directing students to the boats.

"Yes, Miss Delacour?" she enquired, obviously confused as to why she would be coming to her rather than her own Headmistress.

"'Ave you seen my little sister? Gabrielle 'as not been seen all morning and I am very worried," the stress was evident on Fleur's face, and she had decided that if she did not know where her sister was she was not going to compete in this challenge.

"I saw her this very morning, Miss Delacour. I can inform you that your sister is perfectly fine, but unfortunately she is a little tied up until the end of this task."

"But she is safe, Professor?" Fleur asked again. She was still worried, but at least her sister had been seen and wasn't in any harm.

"Yes, she is in perfectly good hands. Now, I see your headmistress coming this way. Why don't you make your way to the platform with her? I have to get back to my own students. Good luck, Miss Delacour," Professor McGonagall told her before turning on her heel and walking off to scold two redheaded boys Fleur has previously heard shouting about placing bets.

"_Mademoiselle Delacour!"_ Fleur heard a booming voice say behind her. She turned and looked up into the face of Madame Maxime, her headmistress. She gave the giant a small curtsey before dropping into step beside her as they headed to the boats.

"_Madame, are you well?"_ she found herself asking, wanting to fill the silence.

"_I am, Mademoiselle Delacour. And yourself? Are you well?"_

"_I am not, Madame. I 'ave not seen my sister since zis morning and I am very worried about 'er."_

"_Ah, oui," _Madame Maxime exclaimed, a small smile on her face, "_but of course you do not know. Your sister is fine, Mademoiselle. She is ze treasure you must collect from ze lake."_

"_My… I 'ave to retrieve my sister? But 'ow? Surely she will drown?"_

"_Non, zere 'as been a sleeping charm placed over 'er to make sure zat she is well."_

"_Merci, Madame!"_ Fleur replied, the relief etched onto her face. She could face this task now. She would have to, for her sister.

* * *

Fleur cast a quick bubble head charm before diving into the water. She was surprised at how cold the water was as she hit the surface; she knew England was generally colder than France, but she hadn't expected the temperature to differ as much as it did. She had thought they would at least cast a heating charm on the lake since they were swimming in it in winter, but apparently not.

With a sigh she set off. Having no clue where to start looking for her sister she figured the best thing would be to swim straight ahead, so she did. It wasn't long until she had no idea where she was, she had just been swimming and swimming and couldn't work out which way she was supposed to be going anymore. The only reason she knew that the surface was still above her was because of the giant seaweed she was approaching.

As she swam through the seaweed she started to worry again. Would she ever find her sister? What would happen if she didn't reach her in time? Would she ever see her sister again?

It took everything Fleur had to push stop herself from bursting into tears right there. She managed to mostly put her emotions aside and carry on, although there was still a pit in the bottom of her stomach as she thought about her sister. This only lasted for a short while though, as soon after she found herself drowning in sorrow at the thought of never seeing her sister again.

She curled in on herself as the misery took over. In hindsight, it wasn't the smartest thing for her to do as she soon found herself sinking nearer to the bottom on the lake. This was the way she stayed until she saw something moving to her left. Drawing her wand, she straightened herself out and started swimming again. She was cautious, until she saw what looked like the tail of a mermaid.

_Zat is it!_ She thought to herself as she followed the mermaid, _Zee clue said zey would be held by merpeople._

Fleur swam after the figure in front of her, a newfound optimism pushing her forward and painting a grin on her face. She was going to find her sister and get through this task. She could certainly do better than Harry Potter, and if she did that would certainly put her in a better standing for the final task. She just hoped it would be something where she could show off her talents more.

She got lost in her thoughts, and lost the mermaid that had been in front of her. She did see a faint movement in a piece of seaweed to her right so decided to go that way in hope of catching up with the creature. The further she swam, however, the more bits of movement she saw, and they were all in different directions. With a sigh she gave up following the movement and decided to swim straight ahead again.

Approximately three seconds later Fleur felt something grab her leg. She screamed which popped the bubble around her head and she felt the water rushing into her mouth. She reached down and grabbed her wand from its holster on her leg, the one that hadn't been grabbed, and sent a diffindo toward whatever had hold of her before shooting red sparks above her and trying to swim for the surface.

Just as she was starting to black out from the lack of oxygen Fleur was grabbed around the waist by what felt like a tentacle, although it was probably someone's arm, and pulled from the water.

_I 'ave failed, _Fleur thought as she let the sorrow take over before she completely lost consciousness, _I am going to lose my little sister._

* * *

Fleur came to with several strange faces staring over her.

"She's awake!" one of them called.

"Professor, Professor!" shouted another.

A pair of redheaded boys leaned over her then, one of them saying "Phew, you've woken up. Any longer and I'd have needed to give you mouth to mouth."

She sat bolt upright at that; the thought of one of those boys coming anywhere near her made her want to vomit.

"Ah, Miss Delacour," the voice of Professor Dumbledore came from behind her, "You've woken up. Are you feeling alright?"

"Professor Dumbly-dore," Fleur heard Madame Maxime say, "Surely it would be better if I were to see to 'er. She would feel more at home wiz one of 'er own teachers, no?"

"Certainly, Madame…"

Fleur stopped listening to their conversation, the gut-wrenching fear of losing her sister taking over once more.

"_I am fine, Madame!"_ Fleur announced, getting to her feet as she did so and almost falling over, "_I must continue wiz ze task."_

"_Most certainly not, Mademoiselle Delacour, you are in no fit state to be going back into ze water."_

"_But I must!"_ she shouted, "_I 'ave to go back in. My little sister is down zere!"_

At this, Fleur finally let herself burst into tears. She could never forgive herself if her sister were left down there. Turning to face Professor Dumbledore, she tried to convince him instead.

"Professor, please! I must go and save my sister, I will never forgive myself if I do not. She is only little, she cannot swim yet!"

"Miss Delacour," Professor Dumbledore replied. His voice was full of pity that she did not want, "I can assure you that your sister will be fine. If you do not retrieve her then she will be brought back up to the surface when the task ends."

"But Professor, I must go and fetch 'er! 'Ow am I meant to call myself a champion or a good sister if I do not?"

"Quite easily, Miss Delacour. Just entering the task and taking on the grindylows in the lake was proof enough that you are fit both to be champion and a good sister."

"But…"

"There is only ten minutes of the task left, Miss Delacour. Perhaps it would be better to sit and wait with a nice mug of hot chocolate to warm you up."

Fleur decided to give up. She still felt like she was going to throw up, and she was so dejected she couldn't think straight, but the thought of a hot chocolate did lift her mood a little – if only because it meant she was going to be warm.

* * *

As the clock struck the hour mark Fleur got up with a distraught look on her face. Not one of the other champions had surfaced yet, and she was worried they might not. What if they couldn't get back up now it was over and they were stick down there with her sister? Her sister…

Just then a cheer erupted around the stands; two people had popped up a little away from the edge and were swimming their way. She glanced over, but neither was her sister. It was Cedric and the girl he had been with at the Yule Ball, Fleur assumed she must have been his hostage. As the seconds ticked on she shrank into herself. She was feeling rather pessimistic that she would ever see her sister again. Two more people emerged from the lake, but since neither of them were her sister she couldn't care less.

Something inside of Fleur snapped. She wasn't sure what it was but seconds later she found herself on her feet at the edge of the stands ready to dive back in and rescue her sister. She was just about to jump when she felt herself being restrained by someone's strong arms.

"LET ME GO!" she screamed in heavily accented English. As she had no idea who was holding her, she figured it would be best to shout in English as they would be more likely to understand her. The arms, however, did not loosen.

"Let me go! Let me go!" she tried again, sorrow and frustration creeping into her voice, "Let me save my sister. I do not care if ze 'our is over, she cannot swim so she is going to be needing my help! Let go of me!"

Fleur was shouting so much, she did not notice two more heads pop out of the water, closely followed by a third, until the loud cheers swept the stadium.

"_My sister…"_ Fleur whispered as she spotted them, "Gabrielle! Gabrielle!"

She felt the arms let her go, and she leant over the side trying to reach for her sister even though she was nowhere near the side. As they got closer, she saw that a redheaded boy was helping her swim and Harry Potter close behind them.

When her sister reached the side Fleur scooped her up in a hug.

"_Gabrielle! Gabrielle! I was so worried! Are you well?"_ she asked her sister in a rush.

"_I am fine, sister. I do not remember anything and I was 'elped to swim over 'ere."_

Fleur felt a rush of relief as she realised her sister was perfectly fine that she found herself bursting into tears yet again.

"'Arry?" Fleur asked, approaching him and Ron.

"Yes?" he asked, the confusion obvious in his face.

"I would like to thank you for saving my little sister. I 'ave never felt this way before, I 'ave been so blessed. Thank you!" she gushed, before leaning down and kissing him on the cheeks as a sign of gratitude.

"And you too, you 'elped as well!" Fleur told Ron as she turned to him and repeated the action.

As she returned to her sister Fleur couldn't help but think of how crazy the day had been. She had been on such a rollercoaster of emotions, from deep sorrow right up to unbelievable happiness. The whole ordeal, Fleur decided, had definitely been beneficial, and she was grateful to have been chosen as champion.

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**Words:** 2,181.

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**AN: **So that was my first time writing Fleur. I was so worried about this all the way through and I'm still worried I've done a terrible job, so if you could pretty please let me know what you thought in a review then you will make a rather stressed girl very happy.

And if she was terribly OOC then can you also let me know because I'm trying to write more characters and I'd love help on my characterisation. Plus I always want to improve my writing.

**This is for:**

**QLFC Round 4 – Getting Those Feelings Out**

Write about **sadness** without using the words **sad** or **sadness.**

**Prompts;**

3\. (word) burst

8\. (dialogue) "I've never felt this way before."

14\. (quote) 'Never to suffer would have been never to have been blessed' – Edgar Allen Poe


	5. Hermione Granger

**Hermione Granger**

**xxx**

_I'd even cut my hair and change my name_

**xxx**

The war had been a nightmare for Hermione, of course it had. But Hermione had been prepared for that. She knew that living for months in a tent hunting for items when they weren't even sure what those items were, let alone how to destroy them when they did eventually find them, having to hide from everyone and eventually fight the most evil wizard there could ever be in their lifetime was going to be hard. What she wasn't expecting was the aftermath.

For weeks since the battle had ended she hadn't been left alone, neither had Harry or Ron. Of course Harry was getting more attention, but she was getting too much for her liking. This sort of thing wasn't supposed to happen to the bookworm. But everyone knew that was what she was, that she was 'The Brains Behind The Boy Who Lived', or at least that's what the papers were calling her. Hermione wanted a break. They hadn't left her alone for more than five minutes, constantly being asked by the press how she felt, what the battle was like, how it felt to be on the run and was it true she had a scar on her arm saying mudblood.

Rubbing her arm as she thought about that night, she sped down the busy muggle street thankful that no one here knew who she was. She'd managed to slip the press as soon as she entered muggle London. They didn't know it as well as her, and she was able to apparate a few times from deserted alleyways to throw them off. It wouldn't take them long to catch up though, they were always following her. They'd even shown up at Fred's funeral. The Weasley's had lost a family member and the press decided to crash the funeral and try to interview everyone about how it felt to lose someone close to them. Hermione couldn't believe how inconsiderate some people could be.

She looked up, this was it. She ducked inside the door and hurried over to the front desk.

"Emily Williams" she said, when she was greeted, "I rang up last week and made an appointment."

"Of course," the woman on the desk said, checking her computer, "Right this way, Emily, Sarah will be with you shortly. Would you like a drink? Tea? Coffee?"

"Thank you," Hermione said, removing her coat and taking a seat, "Tea would be lovely – one sugar."

"Of course," the woman answered again before sending someone who looked like a trainee into the kitchen to fetch Hermione her drink.

Hermione knew she didn't have to change her name for this place, it was purely muggle, but she couldn't be too careful. Who knew whether someone here had a daughter or sister that had turned out to be a witch.

"Hello, Emily?" a woman with purple hair said as she approached. Hermione hadn't seen her before, she must have come out of the back room, "I'm Sarah and I'll be your stylist today. What can we do for you?"

"Erm, I want to change my look. Completely," Hermione told her with a smile, "I want it cut and dyed a completely different colour and style. I've had the same hairstyle since I was eleven and I thought it was time for something new!" Hermione laughed, "Plus I want to completely shock my best friend."

"Ahh yes, I remember reading in the notes for your booking, a cut and colour. What colour did you want to go again, dear?"

"Blonde, please. Quite a bright blonde too if you can?" Hermione phrased it as a question, but she knew places like this could do it easily. She could have done this herself using magic, but a muggle hairdressers was less detectable than magic and less likely to go wrong.

"Yes, we can do that for you. And do you have any idea of how you want it cut?"

This Hermione hadn't actually put much thought into; she just knew she wanted it short. That way it would be less bushy and less noticeable.

"I'm not too sure. Short, I think. Not too short but short enough that it isn't so bushy if that's possible."

"Of course, Emily. Now, I'm going to put you in the hands of Marie who's going to lighten your hair and I'll be back in a little while to see how you are."

Hermione smiled and thanked Sarah, turning to face the new woman and let her know what she wanted doing to her hair.

It took a while, but eventually Hermione smiled at herself in the mirror. She was completely unrecognisable. Maybe now she'd actually be able to get some peace and quiet and mourn the friends she had lost in the war.

* * *

**Words: **794

* * *

**This is For:**

**_BS Card Game Challenge;_**

_Rockstar by Nickelback._

**_If You Dare;_**

_350 - A New Angle._

_**A-Z Competition;**_

_H - Hermione Granger._


	6. Luna Lovegood

**Luna Lovegood**

_Moving too fast_

_Moon is lighting up her skin_

_She's falling, doesn't even know it yet_

_Having no regrets is all that she really wants_

**_xxx_**

_my ship is coming in_

_with its cargo of joy._

**_xxx_**

Draco smiled; he loved the night at this time of year. He loved how high the moon was in the sky. He loved how bright it was and how it lit up everything around him. He loved how it lit up the witch in front of him; how it made her hair seem brighter, her skin glow and her personality shine.

This time last year Draco would have laughed at, if not hexed, anyone who said he'd be dating the weird Ravenclaw girl from the year below. But here he was happy and smiling as he watched Luna dancing in the moonlight along the edge of The Great Lake. He never would have imagined how happy this quirky little fourth year could make him feel.

He took her hand, joining in her little dance and spinning her round before bringing her in for a kiss. Luna giggled and kissed him back before dancing off again. Normally this sort of behaviour would infuriate Draco, but when it was Luna he didn't mind. He knew she lived in a world of her own and that sometimes she'd be off in it, but he knew she cared and that was all that mattered. As long as he got to spend some time with her, whether it was in his world or hers, then nothing else mattered.

He'd regretted much of his life up to this point, and he knew he'd probably do things in the future that he'd grow to regret, but he knew with some certainty that any time with Luna would never grow to be something he regretted.

Draco and Luna stayed outside near the lake until the early hours of the morning, strolling along the shore and occasionally walking a few meters into the forest. The castle was locked up, but Draco being Draco had found a way out of the castle whenever he pleased. He'd decided that he would share the passage with Luna, whom he knew wanted to get out at night to catch a sighting of some creature or other, because there wasn't anywhere during the day they could get away from the prying eyes of their classmates and Luna didn't want to be too public with their relationship. He didn't really want to be either, although he didn't really enjoy hiding in the shadows, but he knew that Luna would be judged more harshly than he would if everyone were to know about them so didn't push the idea.

As it neared 3am, they decided it was about time to head back into the castle and get some sleep before the next day. They entered the castle through Draco's secret passageway, which came out not too far from the Slytherin common room, and parted ways. Draco back to his house and Luna back to hers. Their goodnight wasn't overly affectionate, a hug and a goodnight kiss, but it was those moments Draco cherished. Those moments when it was just the two of them; when Luna wasn't lost in her world and Draco wasn't being eaten up by his regrets.

It wasn't always that they were in separate worlds, in fact they were quite often just happy together – laying on a blanket talking about anything – but sometimes it was more noticeable that she also had her own world she disappeared into, and sometimes it was nice when he noticed she wasn't in it.

* * *

As Luna made her way back up to the Ravenclaw common room she had to stop a couple of times when she heard a sound that could be Filch of Mrs. Norris, but she managed to get there without being seen.

When she entered the common room her plan was to go straight up to bed. While she'd had a lovely time with Draco she hadn't been able to catch sight of the Candalumps, they only came out on the night before the full moon, so she'd have to wait a while for another glimpse of them and she was a little upset. However, as she entered the common room she spotted a figure sat by the fire. Upon closer inspection, she realised it was Terry Boot, a boy in Harry's year.

"Up for a bit of late night reading, Terry?" she asked, wondering what the boy, who she knew from other boys in the dorm was normally a very heavy and loud sleeper, was doing up at this time of the night.

"Er, no," he told her, a hint of harshness she'd never heard before in his voice, "I was waiting for you."

"Oh, I see. Do you want something then?"

"Actually, yes. I want to know just what you think you were doing with Malfoy this evening?" he asked, his voice shaking as if he was trying very hard not to shout for fear of waking the other students up. Or at least this was what Luna suspected anyway.

"We were searching for Candalumps. They only come out the night before the full moon and Draco knows a secret way out of the castle so he took me out. I had quite a pleasant night," Luna informed him as she walked further into the room and headed toward the staircase leading up to the girls dorms.

Terry stood up and moved himself to stand in front of her.

"And why would _Malfoy _just willingly give up some of his precious time to spend it with the likes of you?" Terry sneered. He was coming across as rather hateful, and Luna found herself thinking that it was no wonder he didn't get along with most of the other students in his year.

"Because we're dating."

Luna stepped to the side and walked around Terry. She expected him to try and stop her but he had appeared to be frozen to the spot. Sighing, she made her way over to the staircase and was about to go to bed when Terry's voice stopped her.

"DATING?" he yelled, causing Luna to flinch from the suddenness of it, "You're _dating _Draco Malfoy?!"

Luna simply nodded; she was tired of the conversation and just tired in general so didn't have the energy to give him the reply he wanted.

"Why, out of all of the people in this school, would you pick _Malfoy_? Do you not know what he's done? Do you not realise he has spent every day since he started school tormenting Harry and his friends?"

"Of course I know he's done that, but that doesn't make him a bad person. He doesn't torment me and I like him so why shouldn't we be dating?"

Luna's frankness stunned Terry for the second time that night, and before he could come to his senses she skipped up the stairs to her room with a smile on her face. Maybe all this time she'd been spending with Draco had been good for her.

* * *

**Words: **1,146.

* * *

**AN: **This is my first time writing Druna (and possibly even my first time writing Luna) so a review letting me know how I did would be super because I've been so worried about it.

**This is for:**

_**Codebreaker Challenge;**_

_Luna Lovegood, 'Night Changes' by One Direction, 'Ship' by Carol Ann Duffy,Terry Boot._

**_Open Category Competition 3;_**

_Het Pairing._

**_Multi-Ship Challenge;_**

_Draco/Luna - Search._

**_Shippers Dictionary Competition;_**

_Frozen Moonlight._

_**Fanfiction Marathon Competition;**_

_Same Gen Trio - Draco/Luna._

**_Prompt Relay Challenge;_**

_One Direction - Night Changes._

**_All Those Characters Challenge;_**

_Luna Lovegood._

**_A-Z of Characters;_**

_L - Luna Lovegood._

**_If You Dare Challenge;_**

_3 - Moonstruck._

**_The Harry Potter Day Competition;_**

_Golden Trio Era, Not A Bad Word Count._


	7. Poppy Pomfrey

**Poppy Pomfrey**

"To ten years of peace!" Ernie MacMillan raised a glass of Firewhisky as he led a toast. All of the teachers had headed down to The Three Broomsticks to celebrate ten years since the Battle of Hogwarts, since You-Know-Who had been defeated. A cheer rang around the table. Poppy sighed, this being at least the fourth toast someone had led that evening, but raised her glass to join the toast anyway.

She hadn't wanted to join the party, not wanting to leave the Hospital Wing despite all of the students being with their families at home, presumably enjoying their own celebrations.

The first week of May had become an annual holiday at Hogwarts, giving the students the ability to celebrate each anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts with their families. As this was the tenth year, the students had been given the week before as well. The school was closed for both weeks, forcing the students to return home and giving the teachers time to celebrate without having to worry about any of the students.

Ernie Macmillan, who had been teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts for the last three years, and Neville Longbottom had decided that the teachers should all celebrate together before leaving the castle. That was how they had all ended up at the Three Broomsticks with six empty bottles of Firewhisky littering the table.

Poppy wasn't much of a drinker, only having three glasses of Firewhisky over the course of the evening. However, this didn't stop it from going straight to her head. She stood, Neville reminding her that it was her time to place the next drink order, and the world seemed to spin around her for a moment before settling again.

"Are you alright?" Neville asked, looking up at Poppy in concern.

"I'm fine," she told him in a rush. "I'm just not much of a drinker; it's gone straight to my head."

Poppy giggled as she got everyone's drink orders, and marched over to the bar to order their next round of drinks. As Madame Rosmerta took the order, Poppy added, "It would be nice if we could get some music going as well, for the younger ones. They look a little restless." Rosmerta nodded, and Poppy returned to her seat. It was only then that she took in Ernie's appearance.

"Macmillan," she called across the table.

"Yes, Mada— Poppy?" The newer professors, the ones that had been students most recently, still hadn't got used to the idea of calling their teachers by their first names.

"What on earth are you wearing?"

"This?" Ernie asked, indicating the flowered blouse he was wearing. "I bought this in a Muggle shop." He looked very proud of himself. "Muggles wear them."

Poppy laughed, finding it funnier than she might have done usually, having just finished her fourth glass of Firewhisky. "Muggle _women_ wear them, Macmillan, not the men!"

Ernie looked horror struck as he took in her words, but quickly shook himself out of it and started laughing. "That'll be why the woman in the shop gave me a funny look for buying it, then."

As the conversation faded out, the music started up, and Poppy could see it was the right decision to ask for it. Ernie, Neville and a couple of the other, younger, teachers were straight up and dancing. Pouring herself another glass of Firewhisky, Poppy watched with a smile, before Minerva, who was very obviously drunk, pulled her up to join in.

A couple of songs later, Poppy returned to her seat, not being able to keep up with the rest of them. Maybe it was time for her to think about retiring.

* * *

**Word Count: **611.

* * *

_**Hogwarts Funfair Event – Hedge Maze;  
**__(word) Dancing  
__(scenario) Drunk at a bar  
__(character) Poppy Pomfrey_

_**Hogwarts Funfair Event – Ferris Wheel;  
**_"_I bought this in a Muggle shop" . . . "Muggles wear them" / "Muggle women wear them, _, not the men…"_

**_The Valentine-Making Station;  
_**_Confetti: Write about a celebration._


	8. Scorpius Malfoy

**Scorpius Malfoy**

**xxx**

_It's time to begin, isn't it?_

_I get a little bit bigger but then I'll admit_

_I'm just the same as I was_

_Now don't you understand?_

_That I'm never changing who I am_

**xxx**

Scorpius gulped, he'd never been so nervous in his life. For his first three years at Hogwarts he and Rose had been at each other's throats. They'd been challenging each other for top or the class, throwing insults at each other and had even been known to give out the occasional hex or jinx when they passed in the corridors.

But their last year had been different, Scorpius had actually decided to talk to Rose like a normal human being and she wasn't so bad after all. In fact, they'd become close friends despite Rose still insisting she hated him and he had to change everything about himself to actually be her friend. She knew he wasn't going to chance, of course. Scorpius wasn't stupid enough to change themselves for the sake of any person other than himself.

Despite Rose insisting she hated him, she'd still agreed to meet Scorpius in Hogsmeade on their last trip before the end of the year. Scorpius wanted it to be a date, a real date, but he hadn't said as much when he asked because he assumed she'd just laugh at him for being stupid or something. But, he'd come to find that he really did like Rose and he actually wanted to be with this witch.

As he waited for Rose to arrive, Scorpius noticed that he'd started to sweat. Weather this was from the summer sun or nerves he had no idea, but either way he used his wand to stop it. He didn't want to be sweaty and horrible when he asked Rose out. Because that is what he'd decided, he had decided that today was the day he was going to ask her out. Even if she didn't feel the same, he still had to try.

It might shake up the school a little – a Slytherin and a Gryffindor dating – but who cared. Surely by now people should realise that their houses didn't mean anything more than how they used their brain and the students aren't that different from each other, even the Gryffindors and Slytherins.

Scorpius saw Rose appear at the top of the hill and wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans. _Snap out of it! _Scorpius shouted at himself in his head before meeting Rose's eyes and smiling at her.

"Hey…" he said weakly, unable to hide his nerves.

"Hey to you too," Rose said, a curious expression on her face.

"How… how are you?" Scorpius asked with a stutter. He really needed to pull himself together.

"I'm fine," she told him, "you, however, I'm not so sure about. What's up, Scorp? Where's all that Gryffindor bravado?"

"I… Rose, I…"

"Oh just spit it out!" Rose was tapping her foot. Scorpius could tell she was getting impatient, she didn't like people beating around the bush a trait she'd inherited from her mother.

"Rose, willyougooutwithme?" he rushed, his mind going blank of the speech he had prepared.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Rose asked with a smirk on her face. It was a Malfoy smirk; she'd never had that particular smirk before she'd become friends with Scorpius.

"Rose," Scorpius started, able to compose himself this time, "would you do me the honour of being my girlfriend?"

Scorpius smiled to himself – that was more like it. Even though he was more nervous than he had been telling his parents that he'd been sorted into Gryffindor, he was still able to be gentlemanly. His mother would be proud.

"Dear Scorpius, what on earth has gotten into you? People have to be friends before they can date, and I've told you that you're going to have to change before we can be friends…"

"Ah but Rosie, dear, we are already friends and I am never going to change. Surely you've realised that by now. Or are you as dumb as Slytherins are supposed to be?" Scorpius said with a wink.

Rose scoffed, "Weren't your parents in Slytherin? By calling Slytherin dumb are you not, by default, insulting your parents?"

"Oh, okay Rose – you win. Just answer the bloody question!" Scorpius snapped. If she was going to turn him down he wanted it to be over as soon as possible.

"Fine!" Rose snapped, glaring at him. Scorpius prepared himself for the worst, but what he wasn't expecting was Rose's soft, pink lips coming up to meet his and the whisper of "yes" in his ear.

* * *

**Words: **734

* * *

**This is for:**

_**The Codebreaker Challenge;**_

_nervous [orange] - 'From the deepest desires often come the deadliest hate'- Socrates [red] - 'It's Time' - Imagine Dragons [purple] - Scorpius Malfoy [light blue]._

_**If You Dare Challenge;**_

_614 - Kissed._

_**Open Category Competition 2;**_

_Next Gen._

**_Prompt Relay Challenge;_**

_Station 4: Imagine Dragons - It's Time._

**_A-Z Competition;_**

_S - Scorpius Malfoy._


	9. Theodore Nott

**DADA OWL, Task #2:** Write about someone who hasn't prepared enough, or hasn't prepared at all. Again, this could be anything, as long as it fills the requirement. The lack of preparation needs to negatively affect your character in some way.

**Extra Prompts:  
**(word) Schedule  
(plot point) The doorbell rings  
(object) A pile of clean clothes

**Chosen Character: **Theodore Nott

* * *

**Theodore Nott**

No matter what Theo did, everything in his life went smoothly for him. When he'd started Hogwarts, he'd been eager to learn everything that he could and always gave his all. However, as the years went on, Theo realised that he could get away with doing less and still get the results he wanted.

In his third year, Theo forgot to study for his potions exam, yet he still managed to pass with an Exceeds Expectations. In his fourth year, Theo had managed to take Daphne Greengrass to the Yule Ball—something that had led to the relationship that had lasted through Hogwarts, the war, and come out stronger on the other side—after asking her as a dare. In his fifth year, when Professor Umbridge had given the Slytherins special treatment, Theo had passed all of his exams after only studying for half of them.

In the end, he'd completely given up trying to give his all and left everything to chance, something that almost always worked in his favour. That was why Theo was completely calm as he walked around his apartment, even though today was one of the biggest days of his life.

Theo looked down at his schedule (if you could call it that—the schedule consisted of exactly two things) and, after a glance at the clock, decided it was probably time to get started on item one: 'get ready', so that's what he did. Theo made himself a cup of tea and took it through to the bathroom with him to drink as he enjoyed a leisurely bath.

It was as he was getting out of the bath that everything started going wrong. Theo had just wrapped his towel around his waist when the doorbell rang. He froze, hoping he'd imagined it, but seconds later the doorbell rang again.

"Shit!"

During the Battle of Hogwarts, Theo had fought against the Death Eaters in defence of Hogwarts. After the war had ended, he fled his home and took up residence in a Muggle apartment to hide from his father. Only three people knew where Theo lived, and two of them knew not to visit him today so it could only be Daphne.

_Or maybe it's a neighbour asking for some milk,_ he thought to himself hopefully.

As much as Theo tried to calm himself, he couldn't stop his heart from accelerating and his head from overthinking everything that could go wrong. He raced out of the bathroom as the doorbell rang for a third time to his bedroom, grabbing the first thing in the pile of clean clothes balanced on top of his dresser and sending the rest tumbling to the ground.

He shoved his legs into jeans that were slightly too tight before realising he hadn't put on any underwear and taking them off again.

"Theo!" he heard Daphne shout through the front door, followed by a series of knocks.

He got dressed, swapping his jeans for ones that fit and rushed to the door, stopping only to throw his towel back into the bathroom.

"Honestly, Theo. I know you don't want anyone to know where you're living, but could you at least set the wards to allow certain people? It's humiliating standing out in the hallway like a Muggle," Daphne said as soon as Theo opened the door.

In typical Daphne style, she hadn't noticed his slightly flushed cheeks and erratic heartbeat. Instead, she started by complaining about him living in a Muggle neighbourhood, as always.

"Hi," she continued. "How are you?"

Daphne leaned up and kissed the side of Theo's mouth. Sometimes, Theo had no idea why he put up with Daphne's self-centredness, but as soon as he looked at her, he felt his heart flutter and his brain turn to mush. He knew that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.

"I… er… I'm fine, I just… I was in the bath when you… excuse me a minute," Theo stuttered, unable to find his words as he backed out of the hall into his bedroom.

* * *

"Fuck," he whispered to himself as soon as he closed the door.

He could feel himself start to sweat, his shirt sticking uncomfortably to his back. The dawning realisation of how wrong tonight was already going was starting to send Theo into a panic.

What Theo had originally wanted to do was to make the place romantic and for everything to be perfect, but Daphne had turned up early. He had no idea how that was going to happen now—the whole apartment was supposed to be decorated and he hadn't even started cooking.

He slapped himself to try and get his head back in the game.

"I am Theodore Nott. I am stronger than this," he whispered to himself, but it did little to ease his racing heart or stop the steady stream of sweat from trickling down his back.

He picked up the pile of clothes he'd knocked over earlier and pulled out a shirt to change into before setting them back on top of his dresser. He'd just changed into it, making sure to mop the sweat from his back as best he could with the old shirt first, when there was a knock on his door.

"Theo?" Daphne called. "Is everything alright? You ran off so quickly."

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'll be out in a minute." Theo hoped his voice was calm enough to not make her worry.

* * *

When Theo eventually calmed down enough, he headed into the living room where Daphne was perched on the sofa with her arms crossed and a sour look on her face.

"Theodore, if you're going to break up with me, you have probably picked the worst day poss—"

"What?" he asked. "I'm not… why would you think that?"

"You looked terrified when I showed up, you ran away as soon as you let me in, and you sounded like you were about to cry when I asked if you were okay. What else was I supposed to think?"

Theo looked at Daphne, really looked at her. She had tears in her eyes and her fists were tightly clenched in the fabric of the black dress she was wearing. He sat next to her and rested a hand on her knee in reassurance.

"Daph, is everything okay?"

She sniffled. "Yes, it's fine. I just… I don't want to talk about it. Why did you ask me over?"

"I…" Theo faltered. He wasn't sure how to explain, but seeing how upset she was, Theo decided to tell her everything. "It wasn't supposed to be like this. I wanted everything to be perfect. I was going to decorate the apartment and cook a nice dinner and nothing has gone right for me today. I don't want to back out now, though."

Theo took a deep breath before sliding off the sofa onto one knee and taking one of Daphne's hands in his own.

"Daphne, I love you more than anyone I've ever met. Will you do me the honour of being my wife?"

Theo looked up at Daphne. Her face was a mixture of horror and confusion, the tears in her eyes threatening to spill once more.

"Theo, where's the ring?"

* * *

Theo dropped his head into his hands. "I fucked up."

"What have you done now?" Blaise asked, sliding a glass of Firewhisky over to Theo.

"I asked Daphne to marry me."

"Are you getting cold feet already?" Draco asked with a laugh.

"She said no."

A silence settled over the table as everyone took the statement in.

"Fuck, man. What happened?" Draco asked, patting Theo reassuringly on the back.

"First, she thought I was going to break up with her, and then I forgot the ring. How do I forget to buy a damn ring?" Theo took a large swig of his drink. "She didn't break up with me, though, so at least I didn't fuck up too much."

"And this all happened today?" Blaise asked. There was something akin to annoyance in Blaise's voice, but Theo couldn't place what it was exactly.

He nodded.

"Are you a fucking moron?" Blaise roared.

"Blaise, mate, what's your problem?" Draco asked, still trying to comfort Theo.

"My problem is that this idiot never thinks ahead, never plans anything, and asked Daphne to marry him on the anniversary of her mother's death!"

"I… what?" Theo asked.

"But she's not dead," Draco said, stating the obvious.

Blaise sighed. "She doesn't like to talk about it, but I thought she'd have told you… Her mother died when Daphne was five. I'm not sure on all the details, just that there was a rather gruesome accident and Daphne witnessed it. Her father remarried less than a year later, so Daphne got used to calling her step-mother 'Mother'. It's still a sensitive issue for her, so today probably wasn't the best day to ask, mate."

"Dammit," Theo exclaimed, banging his fist on the table. "I'm planning on marrying the girl, shouldn't I at least know about these things?"

"It's alright, mate. She'll get over it," Draco told him. "Just make sure you do it bigger and better next time."

Theo let out a soft chuckle. "Yeah, next time definitely needs more preparation… and a ring."

* * *

**Word Count: **1,541.

* * *

**This is for:**

_**Pokemon Trading Card – Fennekin;  
**__(Bronze) Write about someone sweating in an uncomfortable place of your choice._

_**Chocolate Frog Card – Albert Boot;  
**__(Bonus) Write about someone who can't seem to do anything right._

_**The Valentine-Making Station;  
**__Honeybee Sticker — Write about a couple that lived through a war.  
__Glitter — Write about a big mess that difficult to clean up._


	10. Ernie Macmillan

**QLFC Round 10 – Of Ghosts and Portraits**

**Cannons, Beater One: **The Bloody Baron

**Optional Prompts;  
**7\. (word) tree  
11\. (dialogue) "I'm still here."  
14\. (dialogue) "Can't say I'm too fond of house elves."

* * *

**Ernie Macmillan**

"So what do you think Hogwarts is gonna be like this year?"

Ernie looked up at Justin. "No idea mate. It has to be better than last year, though. Oh, but you wouldn't..." He paused. "Why are you in that tree anyway?"

Justin laughed. "Don't take this in the wrong way, but our new neighbours have a daughter our age and I wanted to see if she was hot."

"Pervert," Ernie laughed, picking up a small stone and throwing it at Justin.

Justin jumped out of the tree, landing with a soft thud, and walked over to Ernie to punch him in the arm.

"Do you think it's going to be the same as before?" Justin asked.

"Huh?"

"Hogwarts! Do you think it will be the same as before? Back when Professor Dumbledore was alive?"

"Well, it won't be exactly the same, but I reckon they'll try."

Ernie was lost in thought for a moment, saddened by the reminder of the Headmaster's death. He'd never had any occasions to speak to the Professor Dumbledore himself, but Ernie had always admired the man.

"I wonder who's going to be teaching us. The books list didn't give anything away."

Ernie shook his head. "You're already thinking about lessons? Come on."

"What else am I supposed to think about?"

"Loads of things! Coming back for an eighth year was optional, so I wonder who's going to show. What's going to happen to the Slytherins? What about the ghosts? Maybe there will be some new ones! I want to know what all the house elves did during the battle. Did you know they helped out? I ran into Hannah just after I'd defeated a Death Eater and she said something about going to help them. Can we go and ask them when we get there tomorrow?" Ernie was practically jumping up and down with excitement by the time he finished speaking.

"Can't say I'm too fond of house elves," Justin told him. Ernie stopped his bouncing.

"You don't like house elves?"

"Well, it's not that I don't like them. I just find them a bit creepy, you know? They do everything their master tells them to, even if it's wrong. I just… It creeps me out that anyone, or anything, can be that obedient."

Ernie found himself shaking his head but stopped when he realised how it might come across.

"Fair enough. I'll go by myself then." He looked at his watch. "Blimey, it's getting late. I should probably head home or my mum will be worried. See you tomorrow."

"See you," Justin replied as Ernie grabbed his wand and Apparated away.

* * *

"So," Justin started as he slid into the seat next to Ernie, "what did the house elves say?"

"Not very much," Ernie told him. "They kept trying to give me food and wouldn't elaborate more than 'we helped the school'." He shook his head. "It was a waste of time really."

"I told you before you went that it would be."

"I know." He sighed. "Anyway, I wonder who our new Defence teacher is going to be. There wasn't anyone sat in Professor Snape's seat."

"It's probably because the position's cursed. They've finally run out of people that are willing to get themselves killed. I don't see why they don't just get a ghost to teach. I mean, they're already dead."

"That's exactly what they did, boy," a voice said from behind them.

Ernie froze. He knew that voice, it was the voice of Slytherin's ghost—the Bloody Baron. He was surprised he hadn't heard the chains rattling when the Baron entered the room because they were the loudest sound in the room to Ernie at the moment. He'd never been told off in a lesson before, and Ernie hoped that if he stayed quiet enough the ghost would move away.

When he couldn't hear the chains anymore, he turned to Justin and whispered, "You have to be kidding me. _He_ is our new Defence teacher?"

"I'm still here."

Ernie jumped as the Baron spoke, cursing himself internally for not waiting until he could see the ghost at the front of the room.

After a moment, the Bloody Baron glided his way to the front of the classroom and turned to face the students.

"As Mr Macmillan so helpfully pointed out, I am your new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, not that I particularly wanted the job."

"But, sir." Hermione Granger shot her hand in the air as she spoke—of course she would be one of the students to come back for an eighth year. "What do we call you? We can't exactly call you 'Professor Baron' because 'Baron' is already a title."

"Professor or Sir will do to my face. Outside of here, you may continue to call me 'the Bloody Baron' if you must speak of me."

"Why are _you _teaching Defence?" Terry Boot asked from the back of the classroom.

"Because I'm one of the more competent ghosts and, as Mr Macmillan so kindly pointed out, I'm already dead, so if the position is 'cursed' as so many of you like to assume, it cannot kill me." He sighed. "Now, if you would all shut up, I have a lesson to teach."

The class fell silent, although Ernie could see students trying to communicate with each other silently while the Baron's back was turned.

"Okay, we're going to start today's lesson with the Battle of Hogwarts back in May. Not the battle itself, but the defences used to protect the castle."

He sounded bored as he spoke, but Ernie was engrossed. It hadn't occurred to him before, but he found himself wondering what the ghosts had done during the battle. He hadn't seen many of them, but he knew they couldn't have gone far. Surely they had helped.

"Professor," Ernie said, interrupting the Bloody Baron listing the spells that had been used on the school. "What did the ghosts do during the battle?"

"That would be a question for your History of Magic teacher, Mr Macmillan. If it isn't about Defence, then you should refrain from asking questions. Five points from Hufflepuff."

"But Professor." Ernie felt Justin elbow him in the ribs, obviously as a warning to keep his mouth closed and not lose any more house points, but Ernie had a growing desire to know everything that had gone on that spring. "I was wondering what sort of _defence _the ghosts could provide."

The Baron looked like he was about to explode, but obviously, he had been warned to keep his cool as he was making a very visible effort to calm down.

"This is not the lesson to be asking this in."

He turned back to face the class and continued his list of defensive spells, but Ernie wasn't paying any attention. The more evasive the Bloody Baron was being, the more he wanted to know what had happened.

"You did defend the castle, didn't you? I know you're a Slytherin ghost and all, but surely you didn't side with the Death Eaters?"

As soon as Ernie finished speaking, the class fell completely silent. All eyes were flicking between him and the Baron.

"Of course I didn't side with the Death Eaters!" the Baron roared, his face turning as close to red as it could considering he was a ghost. "Not every Slytherin is swayed by power! Some of us have other loyalties."

"Do you mean Helena Ravenclaw?" This time, it wasn't Ernie who spoke, it was Hermione.

As Ernie watched, the Baron's anger was becoming more and more obvious until he glided out of the room.

"Who'd have thought that," Harry started. "Hermione Granger getting on the wrong side of a teacher."

The rest of the class laughed, but Ernie fell deep into thought once more. There was something the Bloody Baron didn't want everyone knowing, and Ernie was determined to find out what it was.

* * *

**Word Count:** 1,320.

* * *

**AN: **I would like to apologise if this sucks. I had literally no inspiration for this fic so it was written at the last minute with a migraine. I'm also pretty sure that I have not got the Bloody Baron's characterisation right at all because I have literally no idea how to write him. Sorry abut that.

**This is for:**

_**The Valentine-Making Station;  
**__Top Hat Sticker – Write about a platonic friendship between two men.  
__Yellow Ribbon – Write about a Hufflepuff._

_**Greek Mythology Category Competition;  
**__Eleos – Write about a Hufflepuff._


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